The Yellow Bird

 

            Beth let out a sigh of relief as soon as she was outside in the cool night air. She’d successfully made it outside without waking anyone up. Pulling her cloak tighter around her, she headed straight into the forest. Tonight was the night that she was going to prove everyone wrong.

            As soon as she reached the shelter of the trees, she threw back her hood and shook out her long, golden hair. “Hector, any sign of it yet?”

            The striped cat seemed to materialize next to her. “Not yet, but it shouldn’t be too hard to find, right?”

            Beth thought about the upper class’ failed attempt to find and catch the rare yellow bird. It should have been easy for them to just use their advanced magic, but they had been unsuccessful and returned empty-handed. Beth might not be in the upper class, but she was sure that she had more magic than all of them put together. The familiar hum in her veins announced that Hector had found something.

            Delighted by her quick success, Beth quickly darted closer to Hector. The cat’s eyes were riveted on the fluttering bird that moved through the trees, twenty yards away. “Good work, Hector,” she whispered as she quietly set down her supplies. It should have been easy to use her magic to bring the bird to her, but she didn’t know how to do that yet. If she tried, she’d probably light the woods on fire or something.

            No, she was going to do this the old-fashioned way. Pulling out the box that she had made earlier that day, she set it on the ground and then poured a neon-green liquid into it. Trying not to breathe in the horrid stench of the liquid goo, she set the spring that would close the box on the bird as soon as it was inside.

            Once the trap was set, Beth stood up with satisfaction. She might not be great at using her magic yet, but she was a true wizard when it came to making potions and concoctions. Her best friend, Katie, loved to tell the rest of the class about how rad Beth was at potion-making.

            A smile appeared on Beth’s face as she thought about Katie. Only Katie ever used old words like “rad.” She couldn’t wait to go back and show her friend what she’d done. She might not quite be a true wizard yet, but maybe she could be wiz’rad.’

            All Beth had to do now was wait for the bird to come in and trigger the trap. The special goo inside was designed to lure the magical bird. It was an incredibly difficult potion to make, but if it was done right, the bird would smell it from miles away and come to investigate.

            Hector wound himself around Beth’s legs as she waited. Scooping him up into her arms, she felt the purrs radiating from his chest. If Katie was her best friend, then Hector was her family. The two were magical partners for life.

            A fluttering of wings announced the approach of the bird. It headed straight for the box and dove inside. The lid snapped shut with a little click. “Gotcha!” Beth carefully put the wiggling box back into her backpack as Hector watched.

            “Well, that was easy. Now take me back where it’s warm.” Hector stretched and arched his back before he sprang up onto Beth’s shoulders.

            Beth chuckled as she rubbed Hector’s ears. “Yes, your majesty.” They started back the way they’d come, moving silently through the darkness, except for the rattling of the box in Beth’s backpack. They had nearly reached home when a great rustling sounded behind them and Beth whipped around to see what it was. Her eyes widened with fear and she ran pell-mell down the path.

            A huge swarm of yellow birds caught up to Beth easily. Hector darted away with a yowl, and Beth tried to protect her head from the birds’ sharp beaks. She soon found herself sprawled on the ground while her backpack was torn away. All she could see were yellow feathers as more than a hundred of the birds quickly tore the backpack apart. An unpleasant smell filled the air and she knew the birds had found the vial of the potion that Beth had used to lure and trap the bird earlier. In a matter of seconds, the potion was gone and the crowd of birds went to work on the box. They easily opened it and finished off the potion inside before the whole flock disappeared back into the forest.

            With her mouth hanging open, Beth could only stare as she realized that her plan had failed. “Looks like your potion was stronger than you thought,” Hector said as he padded back over to Beth’s side.

            A stern voice rang out from the open door behind Beth. “Young lady!”

            A feeling of dread settled over Beth as she stood up to face her teacher. Ms. Markham glared furiously back at her. She knew she was in trouble now. She didn’t even have the bird to justify why she had been outside at night. With slumped shoulders, Beth picked up the ruined remains of the box and her backpack, and she and Hector followed Ms. Markham inside.

            As they walked through the open doorway, Hector said loud enough for only Beth to hear, “I guess you won’t be wiz’rad’ today.”